


Tough Love

by Illiad_And_Oddity



Category: DRAMAtical Murder - All Media Types
Genre: Biting, Fluff and Angst, Koujaku's Good End, M/M, Sly is not nice, but he's not a bad guy either
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-23
Updated: 2015-01-23
Packaged: 2018-03-08 17:44:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3217937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Illiad_And_Oddity/pseuds/Illiad_And_Oddity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sly is probably not the best person to comfort Koujaku after his nightmares, but he’s there anyway.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tough Love

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted [on my tumblr.](http://dreaming-shark.tumblr.com/post/108552667166/i-finished-a-thing-i-should-really-write-more)

Sometimes, Koujaku still had nightmares. He would wake up sweating, the ink of his tattoos itching under his skin, his nails too long, his teeth too sharp in his mouth.

When he was alone, he had to simply tough it out, waiting until he fell asleep again and hoping he’d wake up human enough to go out in public in the morning. He always did, but he worried that one day he wouldn’t.

Like everything else in his life, it had gotten much better now that Aoba was with him. He almost never had nightmares when Aoba spent the night, and on the rare occasions that he did, Aoba would pull him close and soothe him. He was always fine by the time he fell back asleep, lulled by the steady beat of Aoba’s heart.

So when he woke in a cold sweat, with his heart pounding, his first instinct was to reach for Aoba’s hand. Aoba was still sleeping soundly, and didn’t even stir when Koujaku laced their fingers together. As much as he really would have liked a hug, or to bury his face in Aoba’s hair and breathe deeply until the remaining images left his mind, Koujaku didn’t really like the idea of waking his lover up every time he had a nightmare. Surely Aoba would eventually get irritated with that, wouldn’t he?

He gave Aoba’s fingers a quick squeeze and got out of bed, walking quietly to the bathroom to splash cold water on his face. He’d dealt with his nightmares alone for years, he could do it now. Besides, it still wasn’t as bad as before. Aoba was here, even if he was asleep, and Koujaku could hear his breathing in the bedroom. That made everything easier to deal with.

He turned on the light and examined himself in the mirror. It wasn’t too bad this time. His tattoos were only faintly red, only the ends of his hair had changed color, and he could only tell that his teeth were sharper by running his tongue over them. Really, it could have been much worse. It had been much worse before.

He rinsed his face with cold water, which soothed the tattoo a little bit, and opened the medicine cabinet looking for his nail clippers.

"Oi."

Koujaku jumped, startled, then turned to see Aoba in the doorway.

"Sorry. Did I wake you?" Koujaku asked.

"Obviously," Aoba grumbled, slouching against the doorframe. Koujaku blinked at him. The annoyed tone, the slouch… yes, there was the glint of gold in Aoba’s eyes that let him know he was looking at the other Aoba, Sly Blue.

"…Sly." Koujaku had nothing against Sly, and had come to like him quite a bit in the past few months. He was just another part of Aoba, after all. A moody, irritable, and sometimes downright mean part, but Koujaku found his moodiness kind of endearing. But Koujaku was in no shape to handle Sly’s usual attitude right now, with the monster so close to the surface.

Sly smirked at him, “It’s been a while since I’ve seen you like this. I think I like it.”

Koujaku dropped his gaze, “Please don’t.”

Sly laughed. “Sorry, did you want me to be sweet? Pet your head and tell you it’s all okay?”

"I can’t…" Koujaku trailed off, still looking resolutely at the floor. That was exactly what he needed, and exactly what he couldn’t ever expect to get from Sly. After nearly a decade of carrying his guilt and shame alone, he needed the reassurance that Aoba was there for him. "I know you accept me as I am. But I’m still ashamed of this."

"Ugh," Sly scoffed, "Never mind what I said earlier, this is pathetic."

He wasn’t expecting to feel Sly’s arms wrap around his shoulders. A hug? Koujaku looked up, wondering if he was back to Aoba again, but the eyes were still gold and the expression was still haughty. Sly was voluntarily hugging him? Koujaku blinked in surprise.

He was less surprised when Sly bit his collarbone. That was familiar territory, but it caught him off guard and it _stung_ – Sly’s love bites barely deserved the qualifier. He caught Sly’s wrists and held him at bay.

"That _hurt_ ,” Koujaku growled. He didn’t like the way his voice came out, low and bestial, but Sly grinned at him.

"I know," he said. He twisted one of his wrists out of Koujaku’s grip and touched his face, stroking over the tattoo, "I don’t really give a fuck about your insecurities. If you haven’t figured out by now that I’m not leaving you, I’m not going to be gentle about beating it into your idiot head.”

Sly tangled his fingers in Koujaku’s hair and pulled him forward, their mouths meeting in something that was a lot more bite than kiss. He grabbed Sly and lifted him, pressing his back against the wall. His tattoos were itching under his skin again, and it took all his control not to sink his teeth into his lover’s bare shoulder. Sly let out an appreciative sigh when Koujaku kissed his neck.

“That’s better,” he said with a laugh, “I hate that angsty shit.”

Koujaku bit Sly’s neck, not as hard as Sly had bitten him, but still hard enough. He smirked against the pale skin when Sly moaned. “You seriously enjoy that?”

Sly pulled back looking into Koujaku’s eyes with a slow, sensual smile, “You should know by now I’m not the nice one.”

Despite himself, Koujaku laughed. “I’ve noticed. I love you anyway.”

Sly grinned, “Now you’re getting the picture, dumbass.”

He pulled Koujaku forward for another kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> Sly is fun to write. And I will fight anyone who says he doesn't love Koujaku just as much as Aoba does.


End file.
